NOVI SAD (FIBA U16 European Championship 2018) - With only two days of the competition behind us, we can already crown Turkey as the comeback kings of the FIBA U16 European Championship in Serbia.

For the second straight day, Dervis Gokhan Guney's boys have erased a double-digit deficit late in the game, overturning what once was a 14-point advantage for Greece into a 79-74 win. Turkey switched through gears in the final quarter, winning that stanza by 12, holding Greece to just 8 points in 10 minutes.

Sarper David Mutaf exploded for 22 points, Alperen Sengun was once more a big inside presence with 14 points and 8 rebounds, even though Turkey were a -12 team with him on the floor. Yakup Evren Ekinci had 10 points and 5 assists, while Tibet Deniz Gorener contributed 9, including a high-flying go-ahead dunk with 2:30 left in the game.

Greek emotional leader Anastasios Kostopoulos took an inadvertent hit to the back of his head on that play, which caused a scary moment. He had to be taken out on a stretcher, but it was mainly for precaution - he left the hospital soon after and rejoined the team back in the hotel.

 
Also in Group C, Croatia blew right past Germany, 76-64. Matej Bosnjak and Boris Tisma copied Ivan Perasovic's and Roko Prkacin's scoring habits, and Croatia looked like a well-oiled machine, ending the half with a 13-point lead and never looking back.

There was no way back for Germany, who fall to 0-2 ahead of their game with a 2-0 Turkish team. Croatia will take on Greece in the battle for second position, with Turkey having already secured number one spot in the group.

Hosts Serbia also got into the winning column, taking advantage of the fact that Latvia were Kriss-Helmanis-less. A 15-2 run to end the first half saw Serbia take the lead for good, and two more quarters were there just to set the final score at 85-60. Lazar Stefanovic had 17 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for Serbia.

It was a day of dominant displays elsewhere, as Lithuania, France and Spain sent out messages of their intent to go far in this tournament. Lithuania trounced Slovenia 105-55, and France were even more convincing against Georgia, taking a 106-54 scoreline back home.

Spain opened up their game against the Netherlands with a 27-3 lead, and there was no coming back from that gap for Oranje, in a game that ended 77-52. Usman Garuba needed 14 minutes of action to collect a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double, with 3 assists and 1 block also to his name.

 
The upset of the day belongs to Estonia. The Baltic sharp-shooting team rose to 2-0 in Group D, taking Italy by surprise in an 83-68 win. The final score looks good for Italy, given the fact they were down 27 at one point of the game. Johannes Kirsipuu scored a game-high 21 points.

Top scorer of the day: Take a bow, Fedor Zugic! The 14-year-old Montenegrin prodigy collected 29 points to earn his team an 81-77 win over Israel. Zugic was 11-of-12 from the field, missing just one of his three three-point attempts over the 34 minutes he spent on the court.

 
Top rebounder of the day: With Helmanis out, it was always going to be a tough assignment for Rodijs Macoha to battle the Serbian bigs on his own. He managed to get 12 points, and a day-high 13 rebounds, sharing the mark with Croatia's Matej Bosnjak.

Top passer of the day: Nobody dishes them out like Israeli point guard Amit Aharoni. For the second consecutive day, he tops the assists chart, with 14 dimes against Montenegro. But shooting 0-of-10 from the field ruined his day, he was held to seven free throws in eight tries.

Top thief of the day: Croatia's point guard Filip Paponja took a blow to his chest early on in the game, but came back with a vengeance. He finished with 7 steals, the most among all players on Saturday.

Top blocker of the day: Gilad Levy is using his 7ft 1in (2.15m) frame the best way he can. The Israeli giant stopped 5 Montenegrin shots, but ironically, struggled to keep Filip Andjusic quiet, as the Montenegro center hit Israel with 23 points on the day.

FIBA